January 21, 20179 yr Shoot I was gigged for a typo once...but it's Glen's ball so we play by his rules! (And it's nice to have a site I can refer kids and their parents to without worrying...)
January 28, 20179 yr 2nd blade looks good man ! cant wait to see the 3rd - you will not be far behind some of the self styled gurus by blade 4
January 28, 20179 yr Sorry to be slow replying Duckrunner. I'm seriously conflicted now. I was prepared for: excuses, blame, other people should know, everybody knows, etc. and instead get simple acknowledgment. I'd let the thread lay a few days to let my TBI brain cool down some and check to discover I really think I like you. Like puns, know any good jokes or funny stories? Frosty The Lucky.
February 1, 20179 yr Author I've played around a bit more since the last posts, made a couple more blades and finished my second one completely. Working on a handle for my third knife I'm giving to my dad for his birthday tomorrow, and I think it's turning out very nice. I cast the brass myself for the guard, boy what a learning experience that was lol. Since this picture I've finished the brass guard, stamped it and buffed it. Just don't have pictures of that yet. I also made a small blade for a friend from a 12mm ratchet wrench and a file*. ***Removing the chrome from the wrench and forging outside since it was so nice here on Sunday*** Frosty, I do like jokes I'm just not very funny lol
February 1, 20179 yr Author Thanks JHCC! The hidden tang knife started it's life as a leaf spring from a 76 dodge pickup. Curious to see how it holds up!
February 1, 20179 yr Doubt the pickup held up very well in that location; now down here if you see a vehicle with *any* rust you know it's an out of state car...
February 1, 20179 yr Author 21 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Doubt the pickup held up very well in that location; now down here if you see a vehicle with *any* rust you know it's an out of state car... Haha actually the truck was in very good shape until someone backed a skid loader into it. I don't think it had more than 10k miles on it. Was just used to haul hay bails it's whole life. Doubt it even spent any time on a paved road. There was obviously some surface rust on the springs, but 30 seconds with a sander and it was good and clean. No cracks in the portion of the spring I have cut up that I can see yet anyways.
February 1, 20179 yr Author 2 minutes ago, C-1ToolSteel said: Nice progress! Looks like your hammer control is improving tremendously. I shaped the head of my hammer and it helped immensely! Took all the hard edges off one side and left it mostly flat, pretty much rounded off the other side. It's amazing how much easier those little changes made in the work. Can't wait to get my hands on an actual anvil and see how much that helps!
February 1, 20179 yr 7 minutes ago, duckrunner said: Can't wait to get my hands on an actual anvil and see how much that helps! You already have an actual anvil. If you can put hot steel on it and hit it, it's an anvil.
February 1, 20179 yr Author True, but my roommate can hear this I beam ring in the house when I'm out forging and that's 100 yards away. I'm thinking something a little more solid will help in more than one aspect.
February 1, 20179 yr 1 hour ago, JHCC said: You already have an actual anvil. If you can put hot steel on it and hit it, it's an anvil. true, but at the same time, you can't blame him for wanting better equipment. Who doesn't? you can start with a makeshift anvil, but it is not a good spot to stay longer that you have to. DR, you will definitely like a "real'' anvil better than an I-beam.
February 1, 20179 yr Your chinese machetes start looking like knifes ... It seems "futzing around" works and one can futz ... I mean learn bladesmithing by himself without first making candleholders. Get yourself an anvil and things will start shaping up even better.
February 1, 20179 yr 14 minutes ago, Tubalcain2 said: true, but at the same time, you can't blame him for wanting better equipment. Oh, I don't blame him at all! 21 minutes ago, duckrunner said: True, but my roommate can hear this I beam ring in the house when I'm out forging and that's 100 yards away. I'm thinking something a little more solid will help in more than one aspect. No doubt. In the mean time, have you tried deadening the I-beam with sand or magnets?
February 3, 20179 yr Author My Kalamazoo belt sander came in yesterday so no more having to do the grinding and whatnot with my angle grinder. Dispite having a nice sander I still didn't get the handle how I wanted it. Some idiot put their guard on backwards with quick set epoxy on everything and it really screwed me up. Oh well, made due and finished this one tonight. Next one will be better, I hope. Through some horse trading I scored a basically endless supply of nice wood through a friend's dad who makes custom furniture and cabinets... He also has an anvil I can borrow til I can find one of my own. So, this weekend should be fun!
February 3, 20179 yr Not funny? Oh don't worry you'll do or say something every now and then and we'll laugh along with you. You really are coming along nicely, dressing the hammer makes a huge difference. Epoxy, especially the fast set kind doesn't like getting hot. About 300f will soften it enough to get things apart and not screw up the heat treat on your blade. Once you have it how you like use slow set epoxy for strength, you'll be amazed how much stronger 24hr. is than 1hr. You can even short the catalyst and get a stronger bond. Frosty The Lucky.
February 3, 20179 yr Author 6 hours ago, Frosty said: Not funny? Oh don't worry you'll do or say something every now and then and we'll laugh along with you. You really are coming along nicely, dressing the hammer makes a huge difference. Epoxy, especially the fast set kind doesn't like getting hot. About 300f will soften it enough to get things apart and not screw up the heat treat on your blade. Once you have it how you like use slow set epoxy for strength, you'll be amazed how much stronger 24hr. is than 1hr. You can even short the catalyst and get a stronger bond. Frosty The Lucky. I think I'm funny, but not in an appropriate way.. people don't like taking me into public. So I'll keep my dark sense of humor off the family forums. Thanks for the epoxy tip! I figured the longer cure stuff would be stronger, but I had some of the 6 minute stuff from anothet project. Should've just left it in the drawer... Oh well, lesson learned! I appreciate the compliments, criticism and guidance. You guys ain't all that bad, you know that?
February 3, 20179 yr Looking good, duckrunner. Glad to see things going well! Re: epoxies. When I was working in the art restoration studio, we had some crazy finicky epoxies that cured super-strong, super-thin, and super-clear, perfect for the folks who repaired glass and china. The only problem was that they took up to 48 hours to cure, and one of my occasional jobs (as staff woodworker) was to make cradles to hold the larger pieces in place while the glue hardened.
February 3, 20179 yr On 1/20/2017 at 9:54 AM, ThomasPowers said: Train yourself to be a surgeon without wasting time in Medical School? Do you think surgeons have forums with surgeon curmudgeons?
February 3, 20179 yr Most I've talked with have mentioned a curmudgeonly mentor or two; though 1 on 1 as they think some things you need hands on training for...
February 3, 20179 yr Agree and all joking aside there is nothing better than hands on training and that is why for many disciplines there are licensure laws that require it.
February 3, 20179 yr 1 hour ago, JeepinJoe said: all joking aside I don't even know what those words mean.
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